Marco Rubio’s Self Serving Political Stunts Are A Masterclass In Hypocrisy
September 22, 2021
from Florida Democratic Party:
A scathing new report from Fox 13 Tampa Bay found that Marco Rubio has morphed into someone he himself wouldn't recognize in 2016. Rubio has frequently abandoned his principles to push a self-serving agenda that feeds his political ambitions.
Key highlights:
Rubio previously mocked people believing unnamed sources, but last week he used greatly exaggerated evidence given by unnamed sources to demand General Mark Milley be fired.
Patrick: Senator Rubio...immediately jumped to conclusions. He signed and sent this letter to President Biden in which he urges the president to immediately dismiss general Milley based on claims in the book based on sources in the know, even though he later indicated he did not know if the claims in the book based on sources in the know are true...And yet Rubio has mocked others jumping to conclusions based on sources in the know.
In 2016, Rubio attacked Donald Trump’s fitness for office, saying he was a “con artist” who couldn’t be trusted with the nuclear codes. But now he’s defending Trump’s volatile foreign policy against critics arguing along the same lines as Rubio had.
Clip of Marco Rubio: Well, first of all, anybody who knew Donald Trump, President Trump, or worked around him knows that the notion that he was going to start a war anywhere in the world unnecessarily is just not realistic. That's not- he was the opposite.
Patrick: Interesting side note here, Rubio said just the opposite when he ran against Trump five years ago.
Clip of Rubio: -the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual.
Patrick: Rubio repeatedly said Trump cannot be trusted with nukes.
Clip of Rubio: We cannot allow a con artist to get access to the nuclear codes of the United States of America.
After losing his presidential race to Donald Trump, Rubio lamented other politicians who use extreme language and conflict to attract attention. Now, we see that strategy in place when Rubio tried to attack the Biden administration’s public health efforts as “tyranny.”
Patrick: Rubio is now getting a lot of media attention by demanding general Milley's termination on unverified claims he didn't trust Trump with nukes, and therefore undermined him with China. And at the same time, he's also getting a lot of attention for saying other things, such as likening the Biden administration's antibody distribution plan to tyranny. [...]
Patrick: They're not cutting off treatment. And in wondering why such an intelligent and well-informed, in the know Senator like Marco Rubio would say such a thing, I'm reminded of what he said five years ago.
Clip of Rubio: I give a policy speech, it gets no coverage.
Patrick: But if you accuse a rival of being outrageous or doing something outrageous, like not being trusted with nukes or bordering on tyranny, or being the first to demand a termination or speculating about stuff that's provocative, that can draw more attention. [...]
Patrick: It's a lesson he said he learned after his last election year.
Clip of Rubio: That sort of conflict drives more ratings. People figured that out. And that's how they get on television.
September 22, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact: Grant Fox
301-461-5435